Organisers of Portishead’s Soapbox Race have set up a Crowdfunding appeal – to pay for repairs to a marquee which was damaged by vandals.

The large marquee – used for the event’s bar – was put up on land at Battery Point the night before the event.

However when organisers returned to the site at 6am on Sunday (July 16) they found the marquee had been slashed with a knife several times and large holes cut out of the walls.

Slashed marquee at Soapbox Race, Esplanade Road, Portishead

The damage is expected to run into several hundred pounds. The event, which took place at The Esplanade attracted crowds of thousands who watched 40 handmade soapbox carts race along a 400 metre track.